Radio Ballads: Songs for Change

Published by Serpentine and K.Verlag, this 600-page book explores many kinds of care in a time of crisis. I proofread this complex and tender publication, which required heightened editorial care.

This book expands on Radio Ballads – a series of four projects commissioned by Serpentine’s Civic Projects team. For each Radio Ballad, an artist spent three years working with carers, organisers, social workers, and residents of Barking and Dagenham. Together, they considered how art and collaboration can help us to work through illness, abuse, and grief, and to grow.

Reflecting the process and impact of Radio Ballads, the book gathers a diverse array of materials. Essays and interviews meet lyrics, letters, poems, scripts, diagrams, and meditations. Critical texts sit alongside verbatim quotes from dozens of contributors, preserving their natural speaking styles.

My proofreading needed to be sensitive to each element and voice. Like Radio Ballads itself, the book called for a more collaborative approach. Beyond proofreading, I helped with fact-checking, fed back on flow, and evolved the publication’s unique style guide.

Project Credits

Edited by Layla Gatens, Elizabeth Graham, and Amal Khalaf. Design by Elisabeth Klement. Artist projects by Sonia Boyce, Helen Cammock, Rory Pilgrim, and Ilona Sagar. Texts by Sanah Ahsan, Camille Barton, adrienne maree brown, Jemma Desai, Priya Jay, Rae Johnson, Gail Lewis, Layli Long Soldier, Staci Haines, Saidiya Hartman, Aisha Mirza, Meenadchi, Jackie Wang, Refaat Alareer, Audre Lorde, and Hans Ulrich Obrist. Art and accounts from many dozens of participants.